Photo Courtesy: nenews
Itanagar: The Enforcement Directorate filed a prosecution complaint against 19 individuals and entities in a Guwahati Special Court. This follows an investigation into a massive liquor smuggling operation moving alcohol from Arunachal Pradesh into Assam and beyond. The agency launched this probe after reviewing 173 FIRs from Assam Police regarding activity along the 804-kilometer state border.
Investigators discovered a highly organized network manufacturing and shipping booze without transit permits or Excise Verification Certificates. These shipments, marked for sale only in Arunachal Pradesh, bypassed Assam excise duties and VAT payments. Between 2023 and April 2026, Assam Excise officials seized 2.63 lakh liters of smuggled liquor. The stash carries a value of 52.77 crore rupees. These 739 separate seizures represent just a fraction of the total illegal volume moving through the region.
Sanjay Dewan, Niraj Sharma, and Rajan Lohia sit at the center of the accusations. The ED claims this trio controlled the liquor trade via a web of wholesale, retail, and warehousing firms. Four warehouse owners also face charges for storing the contraband. The agency stated that "liquor licences issued in the names of indigenous residents of Arunachal Pradesh were illegally taken over without obtaining the required approvals from district and excise authorities."
These indigenous residents served as proxies for a monthly fee. The operation funneled profits through hawala networks into Delhi, Jharkhand, and Telangana. Operators allegedly used partnership arrangements to hide ownership and dodge benami property laws. The Special PMLA Court in Guwahati now holds the case for upcoming proceedings.
Comments